Originated in the United States before 1918 in southwest, possibly in connection with mining. Related to the concept of the Ancient Greeks: between Scylla and Charybdis .
Prepositional phrase [ edit ] between a rock and a hard place
( idiomatic ) [from early 20th c.]
2008 Beyond Final Arrangements , page 511 :After meeting again that afternoon with Donna, Wilbur had advised her that she was indeed between a rock and a hard place . She could not hope to recover and build back the lost business until the suits were settled, and it appeared that the only way to settle the suits without going to court was to liquidate the mortuary assets or tap into the Clifton's personal funds.
2017 March 3, Nintendo EPD , The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild , Nintendo , description for Rock-Hard Food:
A dish gone awry after adding the wrong ingredient. Chewing your way through this won't be fun, but it will fill you up when you're between a rock and a hard place . ( idiomatic ) unpleasant or distasteful options; in a predicament or quandary .
Synonyms: between Scylla and Charybdis between the devil and the deep blue sea see also Thesaurus:dilemma , Thesaurus:difficult situation 1970 David Sim , Tangent :Husbands, it seems to me, are caught between the Rock of Feminism and the Hard Place of their own marriages [ …]
2008 September 11, Eric Dash, Geraldine Fabrikant, “Washington Mutual stock falls on investor fears ”, in New York Times , retrieved 24 August 2012 :If Washington Mutual needs to raise capital quickly, it will very likely find itself between a rock and a hard place , because credit markets have all but closed their doors to troubled banks.
in a difficult and inescapable position
Arabic: بَيْنَ المِطْرَقَة وَالسِّنْدَان ( bayna l-mitraqa wa s-sindān )
Armenian: երկու քարի արանքում (hy) ( erku kʻari arankʻum , literally “ between two stones ” )
Bulgarian: между чука́ и накова́лнята ( meždu čuká i nakoválnjata , literally “ between the hammer and the anvil ” )
Catalan: entre l'espasa i la paret
Czech: dvěma mlýnskými kameny ( literally “ between two millstones ” )
Finnish: puun ja kuoren välissä valita ruton ja koleran väliltä (fi) , kiipelissä (fi)
French: entre le marteau et l’enclume (fr) , entre l’arbre et l’écorce (fr) , pris entre deux feux (fr)
German: in der Zwickmühle ; zwischen Hammer und Amboss ( literally “ between the hammer and the anvil ” ) ; zwischen den Stühlen ( literally “ between the stools ” ) ; zwischen Baum und Borke weder ein noch aus wissen ( literally “ not to know in nor out ” )
Greek: μπρος γκρεμός και πίσω ρέμα ( bros gkremós kai píso réma ) ( colloquial ) , μεταξύ σφύρας και άκμωνος ( metaxý sfýras kai ákmonos , literally “ between the hammer and the anvil ” ) , μεταξύ Σκύλλας και Χάρυβδης ( metaxý Skýllas kai Cháryvdis , literally “ between Scylla and Charybdis ” )
Hebrew: בֵּין הַפַּטִּישׁ וְהַסַּדָּן (he) ( bein hapatísh vehasadán )
Icelandic: á milli steins og sleggju (is) , milli tveggja elda (is)
Italian: tra l'incudine e il martello
Japanese: 板ばさみ (ja) ( ita-basami , literally “ between two boards ” )
Korean: 진퇴양난(進退兩難) (ko) ( jintoeyangnan ) , 빼도 박도 못한다 ( ppaedo bakdo mothanda )
Latin: inter sacrum saxumque ( literally “ between the sacrifice and the stone ” ) , a fronte praecipitium, a tergo lupi ( literally “ a precipice in front, wolves behind ” )
Macedonian: горе високо, долу длабоко ( gore visoko, dolu dlaboko , literally “ high above and deep below ” )
Malayalam: ചെകുത്താനും കടലിനുമിടയിൽ ( cekuttānuṁ kaṭalinumiṭayil )
Norwegian:
Bokmål: mellom barken og veden
Nynorsk: mellom borken og veden
Polish: między młotem a kowadłem (pl)
Portuguese: entre a cruz e a espada (pt) , entre a cruz e a caldeirinha (pt) ( literally “ between the cross and the pot ” )
Romanian: între ciocan și nicovală
Russian: ме́жду мо́лотом и накова́льней (ru) ( méždu mólotom i nakoválʹnej ) , ме́жду двух огне́й ( méždu dvux ognéj )
Scottish Gaelic: eadar dà chloich eadar a' chlach is an sgrath
Spanish: entre la espada y la pared (es)
Vietnamese: tiến thoái lưỡng nan (vi)
Yiddish: צווישן האַמער און קאָוואַדלע ( tsvishn hamer un kovadle )
having the choice between two unpleasant options
Arabic: أَمامَ خِيارَيْنِ أَحْلاهُمَا مُرّ ( ʔamāma ḵiyārayni ʔaḥlāhumā murr )
Bulgarian: между чука́ и накова́лнята ( meždu čuká i nakoválnjata , literally “ between the hammer and the anvil ” )
Chinese:
Cantonese: 進退兩難 ／ 进退两难 ( zeon3 teoi3 loeng5 naan4 )
Hakka: 進退兩難 ／ 进退两难 ( chin-thui-lióng-nàn )
Hokkien: 進退兩難 ／ 进退两难 (zh-min-nan) ( chìn-thè-lióng-lân / chìn-thòe-lióng-lân )
Mandarin: 進退兩難 ／ 进退两难 (zh) ( jìntuìliǎngnán )
Danish: (valge) mellem pest og kolera ( literally “ (choose) between plague and cholera ” )
Dutch: (kiezen) tussen pest en cholera ( literally “ (choose) between plague and cholera ” )
Esperanto: esti inter martelo kaj amboso
Finnish: puun ja kuoren välissä kahden tulen välissä
French: entre la peste et le choléra entre le marteau et l’enclume (fr)
German: zwischen Pest und Cholera ( literally “ between plague and cholera ” )
Greek: μπρος γκρεμός και πίσω ρέμα ( bros gkremós kai píso réma ) ( colloquial ) , μεταξύ σφύρας και άκμωνος ( metaxý sfýras kai ákmonos , literally “ between the hammer and the anvil ” ) , μεταξύ Σκύλλας και Χάρυβδης ( metaxý Skýllas kai Cháryvdis , literally “ between Scylla and Charybdis ” )
Hungarian: kutyaszorító (hu) , két tűz között két malomkő között nem tudja, melyik ujját harapja le nehéz helyzetben
Icelandic: á milli steins og sleggju (is) , milli tveggja elda (is)
Italian: fra l'incudine ed il martello
Japanese: 前門の虎、後門の狼 (ja) ( ぜんもんのとら、こうもんのおおかみ; zenmon no tora, kōmon no ōkami , literally “ a tiger at the front gate, a wolf at the back gate ” )
Polish: między młotem a kowadłem (pl)
Portuguese: entre a cruz e a espada (pt) , entre a espada e a parede (pt) ( literally “ between the sword and the wall ” )
Russian: ме́жду двух огне́й ( méždu dvux ognéj ) , ме́жду мо́лотом и накова́льней (ru) ( méždu mólotom i nakoválʹnej ) , ме́жду Сци́ллой и Хари́бдой (ru) ( méždu Scílloj i Xaríbdoj , literally “ between Scylla and Charybdis ” )
Scottish Gaelic: eadar a' chlach is an sgrath
Spanish: entre la espada y la pared (es)
Swedish: mellan pest och kolera (sv) , mellan två eldar ( literally “ between two fires ” ) , i valet och kvalet
Translations to be checked: "between a rock and a hard place"